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Friday,
November 3 - The team met at the church in
preparation for the 4:00 pm bus departure to Cleveland
Airport. A few airport time-savers involved
pre-weighing
baggage and checking everyone's
passport.
Darrin Noble led everyone in a devotional time as well as
a time of
prayer. Then, after our (very chilly)
group picture
and last goodbyes, it was
onto the bus.
The group is to fly to Newark and remain overnight, then
catch their 7:55 am departure (Continental
flight 736) for Santiago, Dominican
Republic.
Team member Jeff Walker takes over
with daily details -
Here’s what happened after we left the
church.
We were off to a good start; left on
time from the church parking lot; Clinton got us to
“sound off” and instructed us to remember our number –
to use this method to periodically make sure the whole
team is present.
We arrived at the CLE airport on time –
it helped that I dozed off. When we arrived and I
approached the gate check guy, he informed me that our
bags were going to be checked all the way through. That
sounded good until I told the team. Some of their looks
said it all – what about the toiletries that were packed
in the bags that were now going to stay at the airport?
Next, I needed to collect everyone’s
passports to give them to the ticket agent to start
processing. That’s when Jeff M. asked if I still had his
and Ben’s. I thought I had given them back after
scanning them. A quick call to Clinton confirmed my
worst fear. They were on the scanner at the church.
Clinton promptly said “I’ll bring ‘em.” By God’s grace
and Clinton’s fast driving, Jeff, Ben, Darrin (he stayed
behind to talk with Jeff and Ben while I paced back and
forth), and I were only about 10 minutes behind the rest
of the team getting through security.
Our flight was delayed a bit (40
minutes) but they saved a little bit of time in flight.
We hit the ground in Newark – didn’t need to claim any
bags – found the pickup point for the Marriott shuttle
and made it to the hotel in a matter of minutes (on two
shuttles which they promptly sent out as soon as they
knew we weren’t going to fit on one).
Check-in was a snap and Scott Reisdorf
and I were even able to manage some toothbrushes, tooth
paste, and razors for the whole group – for anyone who
needed them.
Some of had dinner – or just dessert –
and are now ready to turn in. It’s around 11:46PM; we
need to get up around 5 AM to eat breakfast around 5:15
AM and head off to the terminal around 6:00-6:30 AM.
Most of us contacted loved ones
throughout the journey – I’d look around and see team
members on their cell phones at different times. I could
tell they were giving play-by-plays and getting a feel
for how the family was weathering the past few hours
without them.
We’re all so excited to get there and
meet the people (SI and locals) and do God’s work.
- Jeff Walker
Saturday, November 4
- We had a wonderful breakfast at the
Marriott at Newark Liberty Airport and met in the lobby
at 6 AM. A portion of the team boarded the first shuttle
bus and I made sure the driver knew we were going to
terminal C. The second shuttle arrived moments later and
we all packed in. I passed out the boarding passes and
confirmed that everyone was together.
We had a very smooth flight, landed and re-grouped in
front of the counter where they collect the $10
“visa/green card” fee from everyone. I walked our papers
from Students International that stated we are
missionaries, and they let us go thru without paying the
fee. Then we each sailed thru customs.
We re-grouped again and counted off (somewhat
dysfunctionally, but did count off). We all claimed our
luggage and lined up at the security check-point where
they were checking luggage claim checks. At CLE they
checked our bags all the way thru and just lumped them
all together so none of our tags on our bags necessarily
matched the owner. I handed the gentleman the 58 claim
tickets and told him we were missionaries, he smiled
asked me a few questions and let us all go thru. We
overflowed the SI trailer with our luggage, took another
group photo
(much warmer this time!), climbed into
3 vans and made it to the site before we knew it.
It’s been a very nice day. We visited the construction
site – only 1 mile away – to see what’s in store for us
on Monday. We have high hopes but Lowell has us well
grounded on what to expect to accomplish the four works
days we have.
Friday we’ll visit the various ministry sites to get a
feel for what SI’s passions are. We had an absolutely
delicious dinner and watched a video. I can hear the
kids and some others having a good time. I think Donna
and Darrin may be playing their guitars next door.
Time to end this email. I’ll be sending these when I get
to the other base where they have a wireless network.
-
Jeff Walker
Sunday, November 5
- A lot of us agreed that we slept very
well last night. We gathered for breakfast around 8:00
AM. Nate (from SI) gave us our schedule for the day and
guaranteed it would be busy up until dinner – and it
was, but in a pleasant way.
We had praise and worship led by Francisco with Nate
interpreting the lyrics for us. Then Francisco led us in
a devotional about faith (with an interpreter – sorry I
forget her name).
After that Nate served us a local style coffee that was
very strong, but some of us loaded it down with sugar
like the natives do and it almost tasted like candy. We
did these things in an open-air gazebo. Then it was
lunch time. We had our lunch and cleaned up. Then we had
cultural training in the gazebo.
At 1:00 PM we left to visit our various ministry sites in
order to get acquainted with the staff and know what to
expect come tomorrow. At the construction site we talked
about what we can try to get done and what we can expect
to get done on the chapel. We also discussed how we can
help with some of the other construction areas at that
base, like moving fill dirt out of the dorms in order to
bring the floors up to grade and prepare to pour the
floors at some later date.
It looks like we’re going to try real hard to totally
prepare the way for the roofing portion of the chapel by
pouring what I would call a 10” tall header beam all the
way around the perimeter of the building. This beam as
well as some columns need to have forms made before we
can pour the concrete, which we will mix ourselves
on-site in a mixer. We’ll then haul the concrete up hill
in wheel barrows and pass buckets to do the pouring.
Sounds like back-breaking work.
After the site visits, we cleaned up and got ready for
church which is held in the late afternoon here. Some of
us went to a church in the country and some of us went
in to town. Those of us that went into town traveled in
an open-air, flatbed truck with bench seats along the
sides and roll-bars along the top and sides.
Not long after we arrived back “home” it started to rain;
while we were still
cleaning up from dinner. When it
rains here, it rains HARD. One of the dorm rooms flooded
a bit but not much got wet except the floor and the legs
of a couple bunks. I think every room has leaks, but as
Dave Summers pointed out, it’s still better than being
in a tent in the rain.
It’s still raining now and I can hear the tree frogs
calling by the
pool (movie).
I’ll try to send cellphone pictures in a
separate email tomorrow.
- Jeff Walker
 Monday,
November 6
- One thing that was suggested to mention
is the roosters that start crowing around 2:30-3:00 am
every morning.
Thankfully they haven’t been too close to the dorms, but
everyone hears them every morning. We’re starting to get
used to them. During the day they run around the base.
Also I wanted to mention that we have
two people from outside our church with us on this trip:
Trevor Hopkins who is working in Physical Therapy and
Stu Lamb from Clinton’s hometown who is working
Construction with us. I mentioned them because they fit
right in and have commented on how exceptionally warmly
they have been greeted and included in our group – a
real credit to the love of Christ found in our team.
Yesterday we arrived at the site and
gathered our thoughts. We had two huge
piles of rock
to move and level and had to frame up forms to pour
solid concrete columns and a
header beam.
We split into a concrete team and a wood team. Concrete
had it really rough while they waited for the wood team
to get to framing. They started moving the
rock pile
that was up against the wall so we could frame
there. I still can’t believe they moved that whole pile
and started on the second pile. The wood team
framed a
large part of the one long wall before the end of the
day.
The power at the construction site,
which is also Lowell’s home, was out all day yesterday
and most of the day before. Without power I could not
send any status reports.
We all showered after returning to
home base
(movie) and prepared to go out to families’ homes for
dinner. The Dominicans are very relational people and
love to give you whatever they can – even when they have
nothing to give. Nate split us into groups of 5-6
people. I’ll describe my
dinner
experience which Donnie, Angela, Kathy and Lindsay
shared as well. We rode in the open-air truck with a
tarp tied to the roll-bars because it was raining. At
the curb we met Alba and Fernando, a nurse and doctor
working in the health care ministry. We walked up an
alley to the home where we were greeted warmly. Alba did
most of the translating. Our host family consisted of a
mother and three teenage kids that slept in one room and
the mother who slept in another room, with a bathroom in
between. We
sat at their table while they sat in the main
room of the house. They served us a lot of food, and we
ate a lot of food. Alba equated it to a Thanksgiving
dinner in the States. We were very thankful. It was
delicious.
Back at
home base
(movie) each group spontaneously began recounting their
experience: the settings and the food. It was a very
nice time of sharing.
Some of us hung out in the
dining hall
(movie) and played games or sang songs (while Darrin &
Donna prepared to lead worship later this week), and
just talked. No one seemed to have trouble with the
suggested 10:00 PM “lights out.”
- Jeff Walker
 Tuesday,
November 7
- Today we hit our stride: had praise and
worship,
devotion time, then breakfast and headed out to
our sites. I wish someone else could report about the
different ministry sites but I’ll try to recap what I
learned today.
After our
work day
ended, some of us jumped in the pool to cool off before
dinner. After dinner Nate had scheduled for us “Team Time”
where we could decide what we wanted to do as a team.
Darrin & Donna organized a great time of
sharing
and praise
and worship. Darrin asked each ministry to report
what they wanted about what they have experienced and how
it has affected them. I’ll try to recap what I remember
(sorry team if I don’t remember everything correctly).
Those of you reading, please seek out someone from the
team and ask them their personal experience – we’re all so
eager to share what God’s doing, not only down here, but
also in our own lives.
Construction: One of the biggest things of note
is the warmth with which the local guys have greeted us –
especially the younger guys and girls. It’s going to be
hard for several people to say goodbye to them when we go.
Another thing is the tremendous pace we’ve been able to
sustain and the
goals we’ve been able to meet. I know there are a
lot of very experienced construction professionals on this
team, but no one is conflicting with anyone else; everyone
seeks others opinions and offers suggestions on how to get
things done. EVERYONE is
working
so hard!
Education: Courtney reported that it has blessed
her heart that some of the children she’s with actually
remember her. Also, when she was not feeling well and the
little kids found out, they insisted on praying for and
laying their hands on her. The kids are only four years
old! Donna, Dakayla and Mandy reported on their education
site: Dakalya and Mandy shared a story of a caterpillar
and butterfly and how we are like caterpillars without
Christ, but once we receive the Christ, we are transformed
into beautiful butterflies.
Physical Education: Trevor from Seattle is our
adjunct team member. He reported of the compassion that is
displayed daily by Sissy, Students International’s
Physical Therapist. He feels like most of us that he is
taking away many times more than he is able to give.
Healthcare: Kathy Shaffer shared how much she has
learned from both her daughter Lindsay and Angela Ott as
well as the SI staff. In the DR, you get what you pay for
when it comes to healthcare, EXCEPT for the care that
Fernando and Alba (SI staff) provide every day – nothing
can compare to the love of Christ!
Agriculture:
Bennett and Linda Kann reported how
working in Agriculture actually means working with kids.
The children are between 10-14 or so and each has a garden
where the try to grow produce in order to sell it. Today
they fertilized a grove of trees (I forget what type – ask
the Kann’s) that were donated by SI and planted on the
side of a mountain. It was quite a work-out.
Sports: Every day the sports ministry team does
warm ups and drills with the boys. They also take turns
sharing a testimony with the boys, who listen attentively.
Art: Kay Williams reported first and pointed out
that Francisco, who leads this ministry, is extremely
talented and a gifted teacher. He taught Kay to paint an
absolutely beautiful blue, monochrome landscape scene. Ask
her about when you see her. Jessica Griffiths also painted
the same scene in red. It just so happens they were each
wearing those colors as they showed us their
paintings!
Moped Ministry: Brian Miller recounted a
hilarious incident with him and Nate as they were
traveling to on Nate’s motorbike to visit the Healthcare
site. After stopping for a little bit of a traffic jam
(Dominican style, of course), Nate decided it was time to
go again, but forgot to inform Brian. Ask Brian what
happened next!
Brian also shared with us the journey that he has been
on for the past few years that has lead to this team
coming to the Dominican Republic. It’s a story of passion
to serve the Lord and faithfulness on his part when
obstacles were thrown his way. It’s not as humorous as the
moped story, but you really should hear it from Brian.
By the way – I think we’re getting used to the
chickens
crowing every morning, but none of us are ready to adopt
any as pets! Donnie Ott wants a Dominican Frog for a pet
though.
That’s it for now. God bless!
- Jeff Walker
The SI Construction
Blog Site has been updated with
more photos of the
Chapel team! See the link under
"Other Resources" at
the top of this page, or
click here!
 Wednesday,
November 8
- The Nobles, Dan and Vanessa led us in
worship
today. It was very nice. Like a touch of home. Nate
mentioned how he likes to hear the various groups
worship in their style.
Today seemed harder at the
construction
site but we met our goal. Man, this team works
hard! We worked over a bit (past 4:00 PM) and that put
some of us in a bind trying to get ready to go to town
for
dinner and
shopping.
The Sports guys didn’t seem to have that same problem.
Ask them about their
visit
to the construction site. Trevor Griffiths almost was
hit on the head by a falling coconut, but
Jose explained
how it would not be too bad because it was dry. The wet
ones tend to kill people if they hit them on the head!
We
went to town
in five
groups with SI staff as our interpreters and
guides. It was wonderful – and relaxing. We had some
very
nice meals and saw a lot of the people.
When we returned from dinner it was the
usual hanging out at base. A group of gathered around
and looked at pictures that I downloaded to my laptop.
We, again, had no problem with the suggested 10:00 PM
lights out.
Until tomorrow…
- Jeff Walker
 Thursday,
November 9
- This morning Brian Yoder, Vanessa, and
Dan led worship. I always enjoy the way they lead worship,
but in the DR they seem to be even better at it.
Vanessa from SI led our devotional.
We had oatmeal for breakfast and packed our lunches.
However, the construction crew didn’t need to pack
sandwiches because we were told we were going to have a
cook-out with burgers and hot dogs, from the generosity of
a few team members. It was delicious! It was very nice
that the young Dominican guys were able to join us and
many had a burger for the first time in their lives.
After another coconut fell and missed Jeff Mihalik’s head
by less than a foot, Mitch organized an expedition to
harvest a bunch of coconuts from an adjacent tree. One of
the Dominican guys (sorry I don’t know his name)
climbed an
extension ladder clear to the top and stood on the top of
the side rail. He chopped the clusters of coconuts until
they dropped. Then William chopped the tops off them so we
could poke a hole in them and drink the milk. It was
nothing like any of us expected. Even the “meat” inside
didn’t taste like the coconut we know.
Now, before lunch we were able to brace up the forms on
the columns and started pouring concrete by 11:00 AM. We
were done pouring concrete by noon. We had
accomplished
the task we were brought here to do – and then some. I
don’t know how many tons of rock (tusca) our guys moved
but it was mountainous (many times over). SI is now able
to finish leveling the floor, run electrical and plumbing,
then pour the floors. Mitch, Lowell and I discussed how
he’s going to fabricate and attach his roof yesterday. SI
could really use some help constructing the roof in
another month or so (prayer point).
We had another wonderful dinner, did dishes then met in
the big gazebo to discuss what’s known as “re-entry” (what
we might expect to feel after returning home). Some
spontaneous song broke out before dinner.
Right now our team has assumed the usual routine of
playing cards, and tonight, board games. I can hear more
spontaneous praise coming from the gazebo. What a
beautiful sound!
 Friday,
November 10
- We started in the usual fashion, with Dr.
Fernando leading worship and Sissy (physical therapist)
leading our devotion. Both of continued the challenge in
our walk with God that the whole SI staff set forth.
After breakfast, we
headed out
as a team to the various
ministry
sites. Everywhere we went we saw kids and adults hurting
and without hope from a distance, but we also saw people –
many children
– up close that we full of God’s joy because they were
being loved
unconditionally. That does seem to be a unique aspect of
Students International – that they live in the
community
and meet basic needs day in and day out; loving the people
until they ask why. What an absolutely perfect fit for The
Chapel in North Canton!
One particular place (Los Egos – spelling?) was a village
way up in the mountains. This is where the Agricultural
Ministry serves – ask Linda or Bennett Kann about it.
Pastor Larry had the blessing of being asked to preach
there Thursday evening. The Thursday evening service is a
weekly service that the believers of the community asked
to have in addition to the regular weekly worship. This
congregation consists of young men and women which is
quite rare in the DR; quite often the mother is the sole
parent and provider for the children. God is moving
mightily in Los Egos.
While traveling between sites, we saw this boy
galloping
down the road.
Later that night we went to a banquet that SI prepared for
us at a private restaurant/resort called Rancho Jarabacoa,
from which they rent the trucks required to transport all
of us around during the week. The dinner was fabulous!
Earlier in the day Kay Williams started feeling ill. Ben
Shaw stayed by her side the rest of the day to help her
and comfort her. As it seemed to grow more serious, she
was taken back to the
clinic
which we had just visited to have some tests run and to be
examined. They were afraid that she might have
appendicitis so they asked a surgeon to come from La Vega
(sp?) for a second opinion. His snap judgment came to the
same conclusion so we took her to Santiago in case she
needed surgery. After speaking with two other doctors and
after a sonogram, appendicitis was ruled out, some meds
were prescribed and we knew we’d be bringing Kay home with
us – thanks to God!
 Saturday,
November 11
- We had an early breakfast – cereal! Then
we headed to the
falls for
some R&R. It was
beautiful.
All the while, we discussed “where do we go from here?” Ask
us what we came up with!
…TO BE CONTINUED…
Flight status for their return can be followed
below by clicking on the flight number below:
Santiago-Newark,
Continental flight 737. Depart 1:45pm Arrive
4:52pm
Newark-Cleveland,
Continental flight 425. Depart 8:25pm Arrive
10:07pm
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Watch this page,
as we will be posting regular updates on
the team's trip to build the chapel at the 
Students International Homepage
Chapel Sr. High DR Outreach Journal - June 06
U.S. Embassy, Santo Domingo, DR
Dominican Republic Data from WorldAtlas.com
Continental Airlines
Flight Status
